Wednesday, July 27, 2011

The idea of Hulk having a son he didn't know about born from the destruction left behind on the planet Sakaar was an intriguing one. And I have to say that despite the distraction that was the whole Red Hulks saga, Skaar's story was the more important one, both to the continuing saga of Banner's struggle to rid himself of the Green Goliath and to the Skaar character himself.

Basically, Skaar's got abandonment issues with Dad and wants to kill him for leaving him and Sakaar to die. So Skaar cones to Earth and locates his father. But it's the Green Scar he's looking for and not the Savage Hulk so Skaar says he'll return when King Hulk does.

When he next meets Dad, Bruce Banner's been robbed of the ability to transform by the Red Hulk. But Banner is confident that the Hulk will find some way to return n decides to train Skaar for that eventuality. Banner is forced to absorb radiation from a gamma bomb in the middle of a city to save lives. But the radiation triggers his transformation into the World Breaker--father and son fight. After handily beating the young upstart, the Hulk remembers how Banner's Dad abused him. An instead of finishing Skaar (who's reverted to his childlike human form) off, he embraces him as his son.

So long story short, we get the Marvel Universe version of the character and one of Hulk's new crew!

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

You've won yourself Silver Centurion Iron Man. This one I actually reviewed right here on CV!

All of you guys were right--I'm gonna have to make this contest thingy harder, though this time some of you said that was his eye--it's actually his mouth. :P

Well Mitch, email me your address and I'll send SSIM over to you as soon as I can!

As for everyone else, fret not! More contests are on the horizon. So until then, enjoy the reviews and also the special preview of upcoming Marvel Universe figures from San Diego Comic Con in the previous post.

Saturday, July 23, 2011

The biggest toy convention on Earth is barely underway and already we have pictures of Marvel Universe figures from the near future!

Courtesy of Ron via ActonFigurePics.com, it looks like we're all in for an even better year than the one we just had. How is that possible? I dunno but the guys at the Marvel 3.75" division in Hasbro have outdone themselves once again!

So here's the plan--going just by the pictures (duh), I'll rate the figures in four categories according to degrees of anticipation for the figure:

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

**Hey all! Just wanted to slip in a quick reminder to enter the contest from earlier this week if you wanna win free stuff! See previous post for the details! ;)**

I've wanted a Captain Britain since his initial Marvel Universe release. I wanted him bad just so I could complete my United Nations of Super Heroes. You know, Captain America and U.S. Agent for the USA, Sunfire representing Japan, Guardian for Canada, Union Jack and Captain Britain for...You guessed it, Great Britain!

Jack of many and master of all? Wot?

Though I saw the first MU single carded release on the pegs in September last year and the Captain Brit pics from the 2-pack with Spiderman that turned out to be the old school costume, I wanted neither. Funky as the latter and classic as the former was, I wanted a modern Captain Britain, dammit! All it took was a movie to be made. And it isn't even about the good ol' British Super Soldier himself--it's about duh, Captain America, of course!

But just to get you guys who are not from "across the pond" or are not from a country that's been a British colony before in the mood for some right ol' jolly good toy reviewing, we'll sing the world's most recognized national anthem, God Save the Queen!

Feel free to belt it out along with the video:

God save our gracious Queen,
Long live our noble Queen,
God save the Queen!
Send her victorious,
Happy and Glorious,
Long to reign over us;
God save the Queen!

Yes, right chaps! Now that we're all in the mood, did you know that the most recognized flag in the world is the Union Jack? Cor Blimey! It's a wonder that Captain Britain isn't the most recognizable character in the world! Maybe after this review he'll become the most recognizable action figure in the world. Load of codswallop? We'll just have to take a look, shall we?

Saturday, July 16, 2011

You IDed the figure correctly as Titanium Man! Ok, ok. So did everyone else. Heh.

But it was indeed third time lucky for you, Alansong! Must be your name, which reminds me of Leprechauns. Perhaps it's because they sing and dance to songs sung by bards...named Alan... >.<

Email me your address and I'll send out Titanium Man to ya! :D

And since Dill hasn't responded to collect his Crimson Dynamo, I've re-drawn the winner and it's...

Vern!

Your favorite Russian supervillain in red armor will be on the way once you send me your address! Huzzah!

It must have been all that bookmarking this site on your phone and putting it up there with Marvelousnews and The Fwoosh (to which I'm very flattered) that brought you all the luck!

Thanks for reading guys! But...

You know I can't let all the rest of you walk away from your computers cursing me in Siberian, so...

Let's jump right in to the very next contest and call it:

"The weather's so cool tonight that the baby's in a great mood contest!" ;)

Ground Rules

1) If you win the contest and you're overseas (i.e: anywhere else in the world but in Singapore), you'll still receive the figure for free! I'll cover the shipping cost, including shipping materials. I may opt to open the toy (something I'm very good at) and remove the bubble, especially if shipping gets too steep. But I'll ship everything else from the card to the inserts if you like. ;)

2) If you live in Singapore, there's no definitely shipping charge--we'll arrange for a meet up so I can shake your hand, hand you the prize, and let the media (aka me) take a few snap shots. (Just kidding, no photos necessary. Lol.)

Contest Rules

There's a couple of things you have to do in order to enter.

Firstly, identify the toy in the pic on below! Yes, it is your prize. And yes, this one's tougher than the previous giveaway (hopefully). Your clue is that it's also from the Iron Man 2 3.75" toy line.

Secondly, once you've identified the prize in question, reply to this post and tell me what the toy is!

Each correct answer will receive one chance to win. But that's not all--you can double your chances if you recommend someone else to Chase Variant and get them to follow it. (You'll have to let me know who you recommended in your post and I'll double your entry once they've followed!

You can also gain yourself one more entry if you head on over to the Chase Variant Facebook page and like it. What? You already like it? Well then like the post (or you can also just say something nice, like maybe how much you like chocolate pudding and you think I should try it) and Schwing! You've earned yerself one more chance to win! (Don't forget to tell me who you are so that I can match the comment to your name on this site.)

It's that easy. For you, that is! For me it might turn out to be a mathematical nightmare. ;P)

Well all that's left now is a closing date! Let's call it a week and a bit from the time of this post, that's 5am Singapore time on Saturday the 23rd of July. (That's GMT +8.)

Sunday, July 10, 2011

I remember when I first saw photos of the Thing: I wanted to get him--but only if I had a suitable large Hulk to go with him. But then Marvel Select's Hulk turned out to be less than ideal. Hulk's head sculpt didn't quite do it for me. Too zombie-like instead of angry. So I passed on the Thing, happy that I'd gotten Marvel Select Ultimate Hulk, who didn't quite belong to the same Universe. Anyway, Hulk always strongest one there is (!!!) so he didn't really need a friend.

"You want the Thing, you gotta feed me first, Father's Day or not!"

Until now.

Whoddathunk that I had to get married and become a father first. Why? Because the Thing turned out to be my first the Father's Day present! How? well, the wife said, "I'm not even gonna try and surprise you because I'm not sure what's the next figure on your list. So we're gonna go to the store and you're gonna pick out something."

Funny. SomeThing was exactly what I chose. So thank you, Mel my dear, and little Christian for a fantastic (Four) first Father's Day gift!

Well, the wife and I were leisurely browsing at TRU Vivocity Mall when we discovered the Son of Odin!

Give me my Mjolnir and a tankard of warm milk!

He was too cute not to photograph. Makes a Daddy proud! ;)

Oh, and don't forget the little matter of a contest here because it's still hot as hell in these parts! Oh, God of Thunder, summon us some lightning storms! (And rain. Yup. That generally cools us down...)

Friday, July 8, 2011

It's Hot as Hell in Singapore This Time of Year So I Gotta Give Away Something Day!

Well, it's more humid than it is hot but you get the muggy picture. :(

First off, a little bit of administrative matters...(Because we're all business here at Chase Variant. Lol.)

Dill, dude, you won the last contest but ya gotta contact me if you want your Crimson Dynamo! It's sitting in the corner of my room crying its eyes out and blathering in Russian about how hot it is here...

Drop me an email or leave a message here so I can get your address and mail CD out to ya! If not, I'll redraw the winner and announce him/her at the same time I announce the winner of this draw! So if Dill doesn't get in touch with me by then, think of this post as a double contest bonanza! ;P

So the contest rules remain the same!

Ground Rules

1) If you win the contest and you're overseas (i.e: anywhere else in the world but in Singapore), you'll still receive the figure for free! I'll cover the shipping cost, including shipping materials. I may opt to open the toy (something I'm very good at) and remove the bubble, especially if shipping gets too steep. But I'll ship everything else from the card to the inserts if you like. ;)

2) If you live in Singapore, there's no definitely shipping charge--we'll arrange for a meet up so I can shake your hand, hand you the prize, and let the media (aka me) take a few snap shots. (Just kidding, no photos necessary. Lol.)

Contest Rules

There's a couple of things you have to do in order to enter.

Firstly, identify the toy in the pic on the left! Yes, it is your prize. And yes, this one's tougher than the previous giveaway (I hope.) :P Here's a clue: He's not Crimson Haha. Clearly. Haha. But the dude is a Russian though he des look a tad Roman in this pic. ;)

Secondly, once you've identified the prize in question, reply to this post and tell me what the toy is! Each correct answer will receive one chance to win. But that's not all--you can double your chances if you recommend someone else to Chase Variant and get them to follow it. (You'll have to let me know who you recommended in your post and I'll double your entry once they've followed! It's that easy. For you, that is! For me it might turn out to be a mathematical nightmare. 8})

Well all that's left now is a closing date! Let's call it a week and a bit from the time of this post, that's 5am Singapore time on Friday the 15th of July. (That's GMT +8.)

Have fun with this one! (Unless you already know the answer, then have fun...er..waiting? :P) Fire away! :D

Monday, July 4, 2011

The way I found this figure, or should I say this figure found me, was indeed a remarkable coincidence. I knew his wave was out somewhere in the world except that I hadn't seen it around in Singapore. But here I was, minding my own business on my usual Sunday outing to our local toy flea market. The whole affair is set up by a bunch of specialty stores in this place called China Square Central.

Check out his astral form variant! (left)

So I was taking a look at loose DC Universe Classics figures going on clearance at (Vincent's) Toyrealm when a guy jumps out from now where brandishing this plastic bag. I thought he was gonna try clock me over the head with the bagful of toys and steal my haul except that I hadn't bought anything yet. But then he asks, "Excuse me, are you a Marvel Universe collector?"

I was carrying my son in his brand new harness and stuck between two rows of shelves and my wife, so there was no room for any self-taught super hero acrobatic maneuvers. And anyway, I was too taken aback to answer anything else but, "Yeah," nodding my head and wondering how he'd figured that out by me looking at DCUC figures. He said, "Well I have a spare Dr. Strange figure here I'm selling for retail so it's S$19.90." (That's US$16, expensive to you guys in the U.S. but actually all right considering the low exchange rate of the American Dollar...)

"I bought it from overseas and I've checked it for good paint and chose it precisely because it wasn't messed up like the Skaar I saw, so if you're interested..." he added.

I glanced at my sidekick (wife) once and then twice and asked what she thought. (Not that a super hero needs a sidekick's advice but as a husband, always check with your wife. Always. No matter how good your imaginary super powers are.) So when she said yes, I said yes and Jun Yi found this here website despite my not being able to get his name in time. Well, thanks dude! I hope you and everyone else enjoys this review. :)

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Toys, toys, and more toys!

Welcome to my world where it's all about the hunt, about bagging the prize, the much coveted, the very sought after, chase variant toy!

Ok, ok, so it's not just about rare toys. But it is about toys--how I found them, how I got them, and how I find playing with them such a joy.

I hope you discover only happiness in the toys you find. And happy hunting for those you haven't found.

After all, it's all about the thrill of the hunt, isn't it?

Cheers!

The Chase Rating System

10- I'd give an arm and a leg (plastic or otherwise) for this figure9 - I'd take your arm and leg (non-plastic) for this figure8 - It's a keeper!7- A good toy all round, perhaps some minor flaws6 - Above average with obvious flaws5 - Poor toy. Poor you! (If you've got this)4 - Toss it in the custom bin3 - I wouldn't wish this toy on anyone but your worst enemy2- Makes small children cry1- It killed my pet dog